The Beast and The Boy
by Slyfer911
Summary: Unbeknownst to the Titans, one of their comrades has been waging an internal war for some time now...a war that he is dangerously close to losing. And unfortunately for all of them, that's exactly what someone is counting on...


The Beast and The Boy

Chapter 1: Reluctant Search

Sweat poured over his brow as he pushed himself past the huge leaves of the jungle trees. He let out a tired sigh and wiped his forehead with his sleeve, before glancing upwards into the thick vines of the trees above. The sun was out, but was being blocked by the plentiful vegetation that surrounded him; leaving only a few stray rays to come through and provide just enough light for him to see, and also effectively shielding him from most of the heat.

"Too bad humidity can't be blocked," he lamented to himself as began to push further into the jungle, intent on reaching his destination before nightfall. While he felt at home in surrounded by the numerous unseen animal and plant life, he knew all too well that the serenity would be disrupted once the sun had set. The jungle is a lethal and unforgiving place at night, and none more so than the one he had been trudging through for the better part of three hours.

While he knew he could reach where he was going if he simply flew, he never shifted unless it was a complete emergency. This was a task that had to be completed by himself, without the help of the entire animal kingdom floating around in his unstable DNA. Just like Raven had once said on a trip they had taken, "The journey is just as important as the destination. But it usually is never pleasant, as is any type of trip with Beast Boy."

He sighed and rolled his eyes at the memory as he slapped another large leaf out his way and kept forward, pausing every few steps to see if he could hear any predators trying to make a move. The trees suddenly rustled behind him, causing him whirl around prepared to defend himself against the attacker.

A small monkey leapt out of the trees and landed on a tree branch, chattering to itself quietly. Beast Boy let out the breath he had been holding and tossed a twig at the tiny primate in frustration. It was easily avoided and the monkey chittered again, the sounds it was making sounding almost like mocking laughter. Beast Boy growled quietly as the monkey jumped up and down on the branch it was sitting on, using it as a sort of springboard, and leapt away into the wilderness, almost instantly being hidden by the lush vegetation.

Slapping at his neck where a mosquito had been trying to drain him of his blood, he continued forward. He wandered, and wandered, and wandered some more; his mind following suit. He knew was heading in the right direction though; he had just passed up those old familiar ruins an hour ago. That was always a sign that that he was going to the right place. He had only explored those ruins once, and he would never do it again. There were just too many bad memories, and he had almost become consumed by those giant stone walls. He would never step foot in that forbidden place again, if it was the last thing he ever did.

Shaking his head to clear out the straggling thoughts, he again focused on his mission. From the looks of the sun, he only had about another hour before it would set. Beast Boy shuddered; this was the one place he did not want to be when it got dark. He wandered forward a few more steps and paused, listening to the environment around him. And then he heard it.

It was faint; barely audible to the average human ear, but he heard it. It was a faint rushing sound, and once he recognized it, a cold shiver ran up his spine. He was close to his destination, but all that meant was that the hardest length of his trek was yet to come.

_You could always go back, _he said to himself. _It's not that urgent. It'll be exactly the same way it was before, and all over again you'll wonder why you even bothered coming here. _He lifted a foot to step backwards, but paused and set it back on the ground. _NO. If I don't do this, I know exactly what will happen. I have to keep going. _

Pushing yet another large leaf out his way, he kept forward. "I have to keep going," he said to himself quietly.

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The waterfall was a majestic, beautiful piece of scenery, with its grand waters cascading down into a tumbling white froth below, its stream so powerful that the mist could be felt at the apex of the natural wonder. The setting sun created an almost picture perfect scene that would serve to inspire all who saw it, with its dwindling rays cascading through the water and creating a small rainbows across the base of it. Yes, it was truly a masterpiece and the pinnacle of nature at its finest.

And Beast Boy was scared to death of it.

Even now, as he knew he had almost reached the end of his journey, he had frozen in place at the peak of the waterfall. He was almost shaking with fright, unable to even peer over the side and see how far down it reached. He glanced over at the rushing river that fed the waterfall, and felt that same pang of fear hit his heart again. It happened every time. Every time, this would be where he would evaluate whether or this journey he had made was worth it. He would always question whether or not he should continue. He always tell himself that could just turn around and walk away. Sometimes he did.

Beast Boy closed his eyes and wrestled with himself once again. Would he keep going? Should he keep going? **Could** he keep going? Opening his eyes, he stared at his gloved hands. They were shaking. "I don't know if I can do this..." he said quietly to himself, his voice cracking from the fear that consumed him. He wished his friends were here with him: the cocky and brash half-man/half machine, the naive but kind hearted alien, his sometimes harsh but caring leader, and the ever-cynical but caring empath.

He couldn't do this alone...he never could. Every time he tried to stand on his two feet to help himself he would always stumble and fall back down again. He had tried so much and failed so many times; he always had to have his friends carry him.

Suddenly, he clenched his fists. "No," he said to himself as he slowly walked over to the edge of the waterfall. "I can do this. I just have to keep going." Taking a deep breath and steeling himself for what was to come, he closed his eyes and let himself fall over the edge. The wind swiftly picked up from a gentle breeze to a whirling gale that whipped at his face as gravity plummeted his body downward into the writhing froth below. He didn't know how long he fell with his eyes closed; but when he snapped them open, he saw the water below rushing up to meet him.

Instinctively, he flipped himself over and landed feet into the liquid below. The impact stung a bit as he collided with the water's surface, but it quickly receded as the cool fluid washed over his body, almost instinctively refreshing him. His vision was filled with millions of white bubbles shooting upwards towards the surface, and he quickly decided to do the same. He swam to the surface and quickly shot his head out of the water, allowing the precious air to fill his lungs.

Shaking his head, he glanced over to the base of the waterfall, where the water was churned and stirred violently from the impact of the liquid crashing into it from above. "Almost there," he said to himself as he took a deep breath and dove back under the surface of the water.

The water underneath was visibly agitated from the waterfall, the white foam still creating hundreds of tiny bubbles as Beast Boy swam underneath the falls and resurfaced past them. What was muffled underneath suddenly became crystal clear above and wasted no time assaulting Beast Boy's eardrums. Quickly, he turned around and glanced at what lay before him; a huge cavern was cut into the rock behind the waterfall, hidden by the crashing liquid in front of it.

Slowly, he waded over to a nearby rock formation jutting out and grabbed it, pulling his body out of the water. He shook the water from his emerald hair and stared in front of him. "Just a little ways more," he reminded himself. Running a hand through his hair, he pulled out a tiny flashlight from his pocket and clicked it on, illuminating the imposing darkness of the cavern ahead. He took one last deep sigh and ventured forward into the cave, leaving the crashing waterfall behind.

He embarked onwards into the abyss as the what light that was left outside was waning, along with the crashing waters echoing faintly into the cave. He didn't know or cared how far he had walked into the cavern, and just continued forward. Finally he ventured far enough as the sound of the waterfalls behind him had faded away, replaced now by the sound of his footsteps on the rock formations and the occasional dripping of water from the cavern ceiling. It was completely dark by now, his tiny flashlight slicing through the darkness.

He waved it from side to side, to see which he would head next before it fell on a stone wall. Beast Boy froze in place as he realized this stone was nothing like the rock that composed the hidden cave. Things were carved into it; drawings and writing among other things were engraved into its hard stone exterior. Beast Boy swallowed hard.

He had arrived.

He swept his flashlight over the stone wall, which was carved into the cavern wall itself, and felt his breath get shorter and his heart pump faster as he recognized the gigantic metal links that criss-crossed the wall. His light followed the links until they all converged at the center of the wall, and stopped at the humongous iron lock was clamped into place in between the metal chains.

Beast Boy knew all too well that this was no wall. This was a door. He lifted his leg to step forward before a low growl uttered out from behind the stone door. He gasped in surprise, and instantly the door rattled.

A thunderous crash echoed through the cave as whatever was behind it smashed into the door, causing the metal chains and lock to rattle viciously as it struggled to confine whatever was locked inside of it.

Beast Boy cried out in fear and surprise as he stumbled backwards and fell, dropping the small flashlight onto the cave floor. The single beam of light clattered to the ground and rolled to the side. The door shuddered again from the strength of whatever was behind it, and again. Then, as quickly as it came, it stopped.

Beast Boy huddled his legs close to himself, afraid to even move before it would alert whatever it was to his presence. He sat in place for a few moments, before glancing at his flashlight. Slowly, he reached over for it, and as his hands fell on the small device.

And then the thing roared. But it was no normal roar; it was a primal cry, unlike anything that Beast Boy had ever heard in his entire existence. The walls of the cave seem to shudder and almost bend from the power and rage and energy that was released from such a cry. He whimpered to himself and curled up into a ball; hoping, praying, for the sound to just stop. He had no words, and every time he would open his mouth to say something, it would escape his throat as a strangled cry of fear.

The thing roared again, and it was audible even from outside of the deep cavern out into the moonlit jungle. And it was there that a thin, wiry man stood on a branch near the entrance to the cave. His clothing seemed to just be random black rags that hung loosely from his body and flitted about slightly in the light breeze. His face was covered with bandages, and his blue eyes; the only part of his body that was visible, narrowed in anticipation.

"Well," he said coolly, "I guess I've found it."


End file.
